MUMBAI: The Indian Media Industry is poised at a CAGR of 13.9 per cent, expected to grow from Rs 1026 billion in 2014, to Rs 1964 billion by 2019, which is almost double the growth of the global media and entertainment industry. The Radio industry is predicated to grow at a rate of 18 per cent, by contributing Rs 19.6 billion in 2015 and Rs 39.5 billion in 2019, states the annual FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment industry report of 2015.

The report states that overall advertising revenue in 2019 for sectors like TV, Radio, Print, OOH and Digital will be Rs 816 billion in 2019. However, the Radio industry will grow at 18.1 per cent between 2015 and 2019. The report adds,"2014 was an important year for the Radio Industry as the government started proceedings on the much delayed and highly anticipated Phase III auctions."

Additionally, the report gave details on election spending on radio. It states that the "General Elections saw an unprecedented amount of election spending, which in value is estimated to be second only to the 2012 US elections." According to the data released by the parties to the EC, the Congress spent Rs 5160 million in the 2014 General Elections, while the BJP spent Rs 7140 million, out of which Rs 3,040 million was spent on audio-visual media campaigns. The election spend also found its way to the radio industry and was a driver for growth. The BJP itself used around 400 thousands spots for the radio with spends of around 12 to 15 per cent as against the normal 1 to 3 per cent,” making it one of the biggest campaigns for the radio industry. "According to the report, digital advertising is expected to grow at 30 per cent from 2014 to 2019. The growth in digital advertising in 2014 was 44.5 per cent over 2013 and continued to surge in 2014. Meanwhile, the advertising revenue in 2014 grew at 14.2 per cent over 2013, reaching Rs 414 billion.

The report also claims that the Prime Minister's 'Mann Ki Baat' will encourage large players to bid for more stations.

It also states that around 170 Community Radio stations are operating in India. In 2014, the number of applications received for CRS was 1615, while LOI (Letter of Intent) issued were 409, GOPAs signed were 211 and operational radio stations were 179. There were about 800 applications rejected and about 314 applications were in process, as of July 2014. Thus, it showed the growing community radio stations in India, since the CRS 2006 guidelines.

The cap of 26 per cent on FDI in the radio sector is considered as a hindrance for growth of the industry.

The report also states that Phase III will help Radio compete with television "more effectively."

According to Information and Broadcasting Ministry Additional Secretary, J S Mathur, “It is a very exciting time for Phase III as the Government has given the e-auction a nod.”  He added, “In the next year, we will see thousand odd channels across the length and breadth of the country.”